PostHog for Engineers

Most engineers overcomplicate analytics. We spin up dashboards, debate schemas, and drown in data we never use. Here’s how PostHog cut through the noise:

Step 1: Install PostHog

npm install posthog-js

Use it in your app (React, Next.js, etc. or use the API):

// _app.tsx
import posthog from 'posthog-js'

posthog.init(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_POSTHOG_KEY, {
  api_host: 'https://app.posthog.com',
  autocapture: true, // Auto-tracks clicks, inputs, pageviews
})

No data engineers. No ETL pipelines.

Step 2: Track What Matters

// Signup flow
posthog.capture('signup_attempted', {
  referral_source: document.referrer,
})

Step 3: Fix Bugs

Keep an eye on the session replays. See what users are doing and how they're doing it.

Step 4: Build Better Products

PostHog isn’t for data scientists—it’s for engineers who want to act on data, not just collect it.

Conclusion

With PostHog, you can build better products faster. You don't have to:

Write a single SQL query
Build a custom dashboard
Attend a “data strategy” meeting

P.S. Their free tier covers 1M events/month. No, this isn’t sponsored—just relieved I skipped the Hadoop phase.